Blogs

Our blogs provide fresh, impassioned and authoritative commentary and insight about the variety of civil-liberties issues that the ACLU of Michigan takes up each day in our courts, governments and communities.

Get Involved

With the help of dedicated volunteers and community activists, the ACLU of Michigan works to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the individual rights and liberties that are guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Get Help

The ACLU of Michigan is one of more than 50 affiliates in the United States. As such, we encourage you to know as much as possible about your civil liberties. Further, if you feel those liberties have been violated, we suggest you submit a complaint. We only accept complaints that occur within the State of Michigan. If your complaint arose in a state other than Michigan, you must contact the ACLU office in that state.

About Us

Since our founding in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union has led the fight to conserve our most precious liberties. Through the passion of our supporters, we have grown from a roomful of civil liberties activists to an organization of more than 500,000 active members and supporters with 54 state affiliate offices as well as a legislative office in Washington, DC.

LGBT Rights

The ACLU has advocated on behalf of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender people for more than 70 years and, in 1986, founded the LGBT & AIDS Project. The LGBT Project fights discrimination and moves public opinion on LGBT rights through the courts, legislatures and public education. The mission of the Project is to foster a society in which LGBT people and people with HIV/AIDS enjoy the basic rights of equality, privacy and personal autonomy, and freedom of expression and association.

On June 8, 2017, the ACLU of Michigan formally named the LGBT Project in honor of longtime supporters Nancy Katz & Margo Dichtelmiller.

ACLU Asks Federal Judge to Allow LGBT Support Groups to Join Lawsuit in Defense of LGBT-Inclusive School District Policies

2018-03-12 00:00:00

Today the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Michigan filed a motion in federal court asking to intervene in a lawsuit that was filed against Williamston Community Schools for adopting policies that prohibit discrimination against students for their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. The ACLU is representing Stand with Trans, a statewide organization that supports transgender youth and their families, and Williamston High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), a student-run LGBT support group.

Funeral Home Unlawfully Discriminated Against Its Employee By Firing Her For Being Transgender, A Federal Appeals Court Rules

2018-03-07 00:00:00

DETROIT — Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes unlawfully discriminated against Aimee Stephens when it fired her after she notified her employer that she would begin working openly as female because she is a transgender woman. The ruling affirms that transgender individuals are protected by federal sex discrimination laws, and that religious belief does not give employers the right to discriminate against them.

The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Michigan today filed a lawsuit in district court challenging Michigan’s practice of permitting state-contracted child placement agencies to reject qualified same-sex couples based on the agencies’ religious beliefs.

Dumont v. Lyon: Standing Up for Children in Foster Care in Michigan

2017-09-19 00:00:00

Attorneys for the ACLU of Michigan filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court today to challenge the state’s practice of permitting state-funded child placement agencies to use religious criteria to turn away lesbian and gay prospective foster and adoptive parents. The legislature passed a law in 2015 with the purpose of codifying that practice.

If President Trump’s Tweets Become Military Policy, the ACLU Will See Him in Court

2017-07-30 00:00:00

Some days, I hardly recognize my government and the way it is supposed to comport to the principles of democracy and constitutional fairness. This week we had the Senate majority doggedly pushing for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, supported by less than 15 percent of American public, which could leave up to 26 million Americans uninsured. Few in the Senate know what they are voting on because the various drafts of the legislation are cooked up behind closed doors, with no hearings, no opportunity for public comment, and little debate.

The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) has adopted a new policy for the care of transgender prisoners after a transgender woman incarcerated in a Michigan prison campaigned, with the help of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU of Michigan), to receive the hormone therapy she was denied.

Hormone Therapy for Transgender Prisoner

2017-06-26 00:00:00

Josie Mills is a prisoner in the custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). Although classified by MDOC as male, she has identified as female since she was a child. Prior to her incarceration she was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and was prescribed estrogen.

Time For A More Intersectional Trans Allyship

2016-12-09 00:00:00

The results of last month’s election sent shockwaves through many communities, not the least of which were transgender communities. For many trans and gender non-conforming people (TGNC) – already at heightened risk from increasingly dangerous policy proposals– the feeling turned from intense anxiety to one of palpable fear.